- Application modernization is essential to stay competitive and productive in today’s digital environment. Your stakeholders have outlined their digital business goals that IT is expected to meet.
- Your application portfolio cannot sufficiently support the flexibility and efficiency the business needs because of legacy challenges.
- Your teams do not have a framework to illustrate, communicate, and justify the modernization effort and organizational changes in the language your stakeholders understand.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Build your digital applications around continuous modernization. End-user needs, technology, business direction, and regulations rapidly change in today’s competitive and fast-paced industry. This reality will quickly turn your modern applications into shelfware. Build continuous modernization at the center of your digital application vision to keep up with evolving business, end-user, and IT needs.
- Application modernization is organizational change management. If you build and modernize it, they may not come. The crux of successful application modernization is centered on the strategic, well-informed, and onboarded adoption of changes in key business areas, capabilities, and processes. Organizational change management must be front and center so that applications are fit for purpose and are something that end users want and need to use.
- Business-IT collaboration is not optional. Application modernization will not be successful if your lines of business (LOBs) and IT are not working together. IT must empathize how LOBs operate and proactively support the underlying operational systems. LOBs must be accountable for all products leveraging modern technologies and be able to rationalize the technical feasibility of their digital application vision.
Impact and Result
- Establish the digital application vision. Gain a grounded understanding of the digital application construct and prioritize these attributes against your digital business goals.
- Define your modernization approach. Obtain a thorough view of your business and technical complexities, risks, and impacts. Employ the right modernization techniques based on your organization’s change tolerance.
- Build your roadmap. Clarify the organizational changes needed to support modernization and adoption of your digital applications.
Modernize Your Applications Research & Tools
Start here – read the Executive Brief
Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should strategically modernize your applications, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:
- Modernize Your Applications – Phases 1-3
- Application Modernization Communication Template
1. Set your vision
Describe your application vision and set the right modernization expectations with your stakeholders.
- Modernize Your Applications – Phase 1: Set Your Vision
2. Identify your modernization opportunities
Focus your modernization efforts on the business opportunities that your stakeholders care about.
- Modernize Your Applications – Phase 2: Identify Your Modernization Opportunities
3. Plan your modernization
Describe your modernization initiatives and build your modernization tactical roadmap.
- Modernize Your Applications – Phase 3: Plan Your Modernization
Workshop: Modernize Your Applications
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
1 Set Your Vision
The Purpose
Discuss the goals of your application modernization initiatives
Define your digital application vision and priorities
List your modernization principles
Key Benefits Achieved
Clear application modernization objectives and high priority value items
Your digital application vision and attributes
Key principles that will guide your application modernization initiatives
Activities
1.1 State Your Objectives
1.2 Characterize Your Digital Application
1.3 Define Your Modernization Principles
Outputs
Application modernization objectives
Digital application vision and attributes definitions
List of application modernization principles and guidelines
2 Identify Your Modernization Opportunities
The Purpose
Identify the value streams and business capabilities that will benefit the most from application modernization
Conduct a change tolerance assessment
Build your modernization strategic roadmap
Key Benefits Achieved
Understanding of the value delivery improvements modernization can bring
Recognizing the flexibility and tolerance of your organization to adopt changes
Select an approach that best fits your organization’s goals and capacity
Activities
2.1 Identify the Opportunities
2.2 Define Your Modernization Approach
Outputs
Value streams and business capabilities that are ideal modernization opportunities
Your modernization strategic roadmap based on your change tolerance and modernization approach
3 Plan Your Modernization
The Purpose
Identify the most appropriate modernization technique and the scope of changes to implement your techniques
Develop an actionable tactical roadmap to complete your modernization initiatives
Key Benefits Achieved
Clear understanding of what must be changed to the organization and application considering your change tolerance
An achievable modernization plan
Activities
3.1 Shortlist Your Modernization Techniques
3.2 Roadmap Your Modernization Initiatives
Outputs
Scope of your application modernization initiatives
Your modernization tactical roadmap